Dedication to the Father - Colossians 1:9-14

Today we are going to find some Biblical proof that growth should never stop.

In saying that i will ask this opening question.

How well are you growing?

I am reminded of a common philosophy when it comes to business “No matter how much money one may make there is always something to learn”

See most successful people in the business world find themselves with an attitude of continued growth and a hunger to become more successful.

Without this hunger and desire most business men and women will find themselves unsuccessful as well as lose most of the money they began with.

This isn’t always a hunger for more money but simply a desire to be as good as we can be at what we are doing this is the only way we can stay ahead of the competition and continue to be successful.

Upon losing the desire to grow and becoming content with where the business is often times the business and the business man begin to fail

The special stories you hear of people who have came from the dishwasher of a restaurant to owing that very restaurant and helping it to become successful do not happen from people who do not want to learn or who have a poor work ethic

The truth is that success cannot come without work and the ability to learn

What about our success as believers?

Our success as believers rests solely on the question “are our lives pleasing unto Christ?”

However, we cannot just stop living a life for Christ once we realize we are doing as we should.

In the same matter as the business man this would result in a failing success of our Christian walk.

read (Colossians 1:9-14)

The early Christian church was a great example of a church that desired to follow God.

Why some may ask why the early church set such an example for us the truth is that we can find one answer in the Apostle Paul.

Paul faithfully prayed for them as members of the body of Christ and knew they were his brothers and sisters

Still even with this he has a special message for them in the coming verses

A prayer that Christ would reveal to them the path in which he wanted them to go

In verse 9 Paul encourages the Colosse people in this way....

Colossians 1:9 KJV 1900

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Paul prayed for them every chance he could

Here this mention of prayer has a different tone to it then Paul had previously used before

Paul says “They have been praying for them to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding”

In other words Paul is saying I want to see you be filled with nothing more then the understanding of what the Lord expects of you and where he wants your life to go”

So the Colossians, a very spiritually successful people if you will.

Even when Paul was speaking to people who he knew were living lives that were pleasing unto God he still had a theme that he has followed with each of his letters...

I. Seek Even More the Things of the Lord

So why does Paul pray for these people who are believers to know more of what the Lord wants?

Because they were expected to continue to grow.

After all they should already know this because they are believers

Yet even while Paul saw a people living for the Lord he said I pray for you to know and desire more of the Lord

In verse 10 he says “That you make walk worthy of the Lord in all pleasing”.

He is praying, that they would desire the Lord and the things of the Lord even more because this is the only way they could continue in his will.

Paul is saying to these people “even in your faith you need growth”

Brothers and sisters you need to grow even when you feel you are a mature Christian you need to continue to grow

Closer to our heavenly Father each day.

Father, on this Fathers day, you set the tone in your families.

Paul displayed a father like role to the early Christian churches.

Being a Christian father today, means you are a seeking to be a spiritual juggernaut in your homes, in the life around you and in your church.

To this this you must desire this.

Paul desired to see people come to know Christ and he took the great commission to heart.

He made it his everything to share the gospel.

Fathers, have you considered that your children may avoid God’s truth because you do?

When we have no desire for our father and his commandments we cannot expect our children and grandchildren to.

When we fail to seek the kingdom first we cannot expect our families to.

So how can we desire to live a life that is completely pleasing unto God?

Thee truth is we cannot if we are unwilling to give our all to him....

II. Where is Your Focus?

Lets be real with our self for a moment.

Friends, can we tell our self the truth this morning?

I am going to ask us three questions and I want us to take this opportunity to be honest with ourself...

WHERE DO YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MOST?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITY?

These attribute that are within your life can tell you if you are living in a manner in which Christ is your everything.

As much as we love our hobbies, do we love them more than him?

As much as we love our family, do we love them more than him?

Whatever it is friends, if we love them more than God we find our self guilty of worshipping the wrong thing.

Paul continues in verse 10 and says you can be pleasing to God by “being fruitful in every work, and increasing in the knowledge of God”

This doesn’t mean to learn all the fancy pronunciations of the old testament names or to know every greek and Hebrew word.

To become knowledgeable in the word means we are seeking to understand it and hide it in our heart.

It means we are living as the word and looking for it to change our lives.

We must become a life that is lived for Jesus.

The truth is that the world is not facing anything more than a heart problem.

Unfortunately, that heart problem starts in two places in this order.

First, it starts in the homes of the Christian and then comes into the modern church.

Lets begin with the home.

The truth is how we carry our self in our homes is the root to the future.

If our children see fathers who are warriors for the gospel of jesus Christ, that will be what they desire.

In the same way if they see mothers who support and encourage a love for Christ and his work they will to do this.

Unfortunately, the issue comes when fathers and mothers care more about the world and its fleshly desires than Christ.

The truth is that we do not have to be “bad people” to do this.

We do this simply by allowing our hearts most intimate desires to be that of the world.

Meaning, we often care more about the creation than the creator and his mission of redemption and purpose.

So I ask, How can we be knowledgeable and fruitful Christians?

Lets remember fruit rarely just appears.

It is worked and it is cultivated and it is taken care of.

We have to put in the work

We as Christians have to seek what the Lord desires of us through prayer and through his word and then we have to put it into action in our lives

Paul told Colosse very briefly, in the opening verse’s of Colossians “I have heard of the life you live for our Lord.”

Then he quickly changes the point of his message from bragging on Colosse to “lets get back to work and seek to be more like Christ”

That is the philosophy I want you to carry today

Get back to work and try to look more like Jesus

Why do this?

Whats the big deal about being like the image of Christ?

Verse 11....

We do this so we may be

Colossians 1:11 KJV 1900

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

We seek to be like the image of Christ to be strengthened with the might from his glorious power

In other words we want him on our side

If you are struggling in you life don’t blame it on prayer not working or Jesus not listening

Blame it on this

You most likely don’t have the power or strength of our Lord because you aren’t out taking care of the crop

You’ve stopped growing as a Christian

Your Christianity is failing because your life isn’t pleasing unto him

Paul gave the Colosse people a pat on the back for trying to live a life that was pleasing unto Christ then he said now get back to work.

He knew sin was just waiting on a lapse in their relationship with Christ

Lastly we do these things because of verse 12-14

Colossians 1:12–14 KJV 1900

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

We live a life pleasing unto God and we try to grow closer to him because he has given us eternal life and forgiveness of sins

The question now has became are you a man or woman who is living a life pleasing unto God?

If so are you feeling weak in this journey, if so I want to encourage you to keep working because Paul has just given us a perfect example of why?

Our hard work means we can have a life closer to Christ and his strength will dwell in us.

We have seen quite possibly what is happening in our life.

I want now ask...

III.What could Our Life be? ut

What could our life be if we commit to the Father entirely today.

What could it be if Husbands and Fathers began setting Biblical examples with their life.

If they began to give their all to Christ.

What could it be if Mothers stepped into the role of an encourage to their husbands and began to strengthen them and build them up.

What could it be if all just lived as Paul and took the law of scripture to heart.

If our lives began to reflect Christ more than anything.

Our children would do the same.

Our churches would come back to a place where the Great Commission and the Gospel of Jesus Christ meant everything to us.

I pray that Christ will continue to give you a knowledge and understanding of him so you may grow closer to him.

Even beyond that, I pray he would begin to change your heart today.

I pray that you would begin to see him as your everything and not your sometimes.

That you would want to be with the family of believers.

That you would have a passion to see people come to know him.

That you would love your Lord with all of your being, even so that you would tell the world no and your Lord yes.

If you aren’t a Christian this morning and you hear this true story of church that was living a life for Christ and what that life means

You now know a life for Christ means you have his strength and that you through this relationship can be forgiven in all the wrong you have done

And you realize this is the new life you want to live

Maybe you just say i am a christian but I have fallen away from a life that is pleasing unto God

My heart has become focused on the world instead of my Lord.

I have blamed everyone but myself for all my problems and I just want the strength of our Lord back in my life would you come today so that you can begin to live a life that is pleasing unto Christ once again.

If your a Father, perhaps you aren’t being a spiritual leader in your home, would you come and seek guidance and direction.

Or a wife who doesn’t support her husband in his call to be a spiritual leader, would you come.

When all is said and done today, would you seek that in which Christ has for you today.

In conclusion we should all ask ourselves Are we dedicated to the father and are we growing in our faith?

Paul sure thought it was important for these Christians, this certainly means it is just as important to us